January 19, 2012

This morning we had the good fortune to have two beautiful visitors (the Abel ladies) who came with home-made blueberry muffins! What a treat! They could only stay for a short time because Sarah had to go to school, but it was the best way to start the day!

Olivia was in a good humor, and although she would probably have been 'game' for a trip to the grocery store, I decided that today was going to be a stay-home day. We'd had two busy days in a row so today we we would dedicate to resting and catching up on some cuddling. Plus, the evening had some special things in store for us!

Olivia is getting very good a grabbing things. She really likes to hold onto my hand, or my finger, and seems to enjoy touching things. She's no longer using only a closed fist, or simply slapping with the whole hand, she's touching with her fingers and wiggling them around. It must be exciting to be a baby and have all these 'new parts' to get used to.

Today we stayed in our pajamas most of the day, although I found that the cute green sleep sack she was wearing seemed to be irritating the skin on her chest. This is one of the sacks that we bought at Once Upon a Child. I washed it before she wore it, but the soft lining on the reverse of the chest decal seems to be mostly worn off. I think that is what bothered her skin. But just in case, we had a sponge bath and changed into a spiffy outfit. Tonight's outfit was one that Nana bought and I can't believe that it's almost too small already. It is a newborn size, so I think this putting me on 'notice' that she needs to wear all her newborn things soon or we might not get a chance to see them on! Olivia also wore her first pair of tights. She needed to be dressed up, because we had a Skype date planned with Daddy.

Before Skyping with Daddy we Skyped with Mimi, Kari & Pop. Everyone wanted to see Olivia in her fabulous outfit. We also had a visit from the beautiful Williams women - all four! - who brought us a delectable dinner and kept us company until Daddy called. Daddy loved the tights and got to see just how red Olivia's hair is turning out to be. I think, although of course I could be wrong, that her eyes are turning brown rather than blue. I guess we have to just wait & see!

After our date was over, I tried to eat some dinner, but Olivia had the same idea. I tried to eat over her head, but it was a little unwieldy. It speaks to how yummy the dinner was that it survived a few reheatings so I could finish MY dinner, too. Tonight we also tried something new - pumping while Olivia ate. Olivia looked a little apprehensive that there was a noisy machine taking her milk on the other side. She kept staring with such concern in her eyes, that I had to cover up the pump. Since we're planning on eventually using a bottle, as well as breast, it's almost time to try introducing it. I'm also going to try and store a little milk every day - that way we have a supply for when Daddy gets home and he wants to feed her, too.

Instead of getting to bed at our usual time, Olivia wanted to cluster feed. Instead of it making her sleepy, it made her wide awake. Every time we finished nursing she looked at me with eyes wide open as if to say, "Now what are we going to do?" We played with the moose Leanne gave us - it was so fascinating! And what's more fun is to see the changes in Olivia's reaction - a couple weeks ago she hardly noticed the moose, tonight she couldn't take her eyes off it. I managed to rock her to sleep a time or two, but as soon as I tried to move her to her bed, the jig was up! Awake again! Finally, I tried nursing while lying down, with Olivia lying next to me. This worked! She fell asleep and since we were in a place that I could sleep too, I didn't move her. This did mean that I didn't get to the blog last night as planned. But a sleeping baby took precedence.